I want to share this with you. My wife of nearly 25 years and our 14-year-old daughter Annie sat down and wrote this for you guys. Enjoy! 

The summer growing season has ended, and the garden is quiet. Prep work has been done to hopefully get ahead of the weeds. Did you hear that? That’s the sigh of rest as my mind ponders all the zucchini, peas, corn, tomatoes and zinnias harvested as well as all the pickled okra and cucumbers overwhelming our storage room.

There is one thought though that quickly brings raised eyebrows and a headshake!

Before the fence was installed, we thought we’d till the ground. Since this is our third growing season, we figured us owning a tiller just makes sense. They are truly a gardener’s best friend you know, especially a garden the size of ours. We have been very fortunate to have a wonderful local rental company that offers both front and rear tine tillers. Since we’ve been able to try both, our sore muscles were begging us to strongly consider purchasing a rear tine tiller.

We began our search online by reading gardening articles and looking through various company’s offerings. Since price was a consideration, we took to local marketplace sites. After a few failed appointments and questionable listings, we returned to the idea of purchasing from a store.

Again, back online we go. We find what we need and head to the store to purchase said tiller.

Our first red flag should have been they only had one left. But no, our thoughts went to how lucky we were. Our second red flag should have been they had to literally dig this toy out from

amongst other boxes. I mean it was way back. But no, we were drunk on excitement and made the purchase. To home we go!

How excited my wife was to have our very own tiller to use at our leisure. She anxiously waited for our daughter and me to put it together. Now, again, the final red flag should have been it was bolted into a metal frame. But no, again, our thoughts went to how thoughtful the company was to secure the toy for ease of transport.

The time had come. I braced myself as I flipped the switch to idle and then pulled the string to start the engine. Before I knew it, that sucker lunged forward like a football team on an all-you-can-eat buffet table. Off we went. I quickly started looking for the lever to adjust the speed.

There ain’t one! All I could do was hold on for my dear life as that beast started bucking, lunging us here and there. I swear I heard it laugh as I was pulled, feet dragging grooves in the dirt. Its final lunge projected it forward and my hands slipped off its horns, I mean handles.

There it sat, breathing its sadistic breath. All I could do was stand there in shock, hands on knees as I tried to regain my senses. I look around and realize all I had tilled was one row. One stinking row!

All I can say is when you are making a major purchase check for the store’s return policy. I for one am grateful for this store’s 100% satisfaction guarantee or your money back!